Update On Holly Street Playground Renovation

The last Oregon Hill neighborhood Association meeting included an informal report from the City’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities

– Holly Street Playground Updates (Provided by Ryan Rinn)
• Work has started on the restroom upgrades which will include:
◦ Resizing the doors to be ADA Accessible
◦ A new roof
◦ New fixtures
◦ New automatic locking doors that will be set to open at sunrise and lock at sunset (if anyone wants to see the mechanism they can check out the new modular restroom facility in Bryan Park by the playground there)
◦ New paint
◦ ADA access ramp into facility
• We are awaiting guidance from DPU regarding some stormwater upgrades they have planned for the site before we plan other major improvements to the park. We should know by the end of October what their work schedule will be and what impacts it will have on the park, and planned park upgrades
• We have received permission to move a playground we had slated for another site, and issued a purchase order for, to Holly Street. I will be working with the representative from Kompan to provide some options for the community to review based on the approved conceptual plans.
◦ I do not yet have full details on what this means, except that the $400K budget will go further to implement additional community priorities beyond the playground features. I will be able to provide a full update in November.

69th Annual Commonwealth’s Veterans Day Ceremony

This Tuesday is Veteran’s Day, which was originally established as Armistice Day, in 1918, the day that marked the end of “The War To End All Wars”.
Armistice Day was considered a global day of peace, that lead to the creation of The League of Nations in 1920, the predecessor to the United Nations.
The holiday was renamed Veterans Day in the United States in 1954.

The Virginia War Memorial will be holding its annual Veterans Day ceremony this Tuesday at 3pm:

From the website announcement:

Join us for the 69th Annual Commonwealth’s Veterans Day Ceremony at the Virginia War Memorial, honoring Virginia’s men and women who have served and who are currently serving in the United States Armed Forces.
There will be guest speakers, patriotic music and recognition of the winners of the Virginia War Memorial’s Veterans Day Student Essay Contest.
The ceremony will be held in the Virginia War Memorial’s E. Bruce Heilman Amphitheater, rain or shine.

Stories From Oregon Hill: A Storytelling Event

While neighborhood and City are looking forward to Halloween, there’s another event that is coming up quickly at Pine Street Baptist Church…
From announcement:

Tales from Oregon Hill – Sunday, November 2 at 4 pm. Bring your favorite Oregon Hill stories and a dessert to share.

Also, following the success of ‘Craft Night‘, a sequel Craft Night is planned for later next month.

Trash/Recycling Pickup Tomorrow Morning

Tomorrow is a “Red Wednesday”, which means trash and recycling pickup.
Please go over what can be recycled.

NOTE: CVWMA (Central Virginia Waste Management Authority) has announced that all curbside recycling must now be INSIDE the CVWMA containers with lid closed. Items beside the container or on top of it will not be collected. In fact, incorrect setouts may not be collected at all. This is new as of July 1 for all our curbside recyclers, with the exception of townhomes/condos still using small bins. (And yes, this also applies to flattened cardboard boxes.)

Ideally, rolling recycling containers are stored and deployed in the back alleys along with trash cans. Please make sure you pick up containers after pickup tomorrow night. More CVWMA information can be found at this link:
https://cvwma.com/cvwma-locations/richmond/

In order to take your recycling to the next level, read this: 10 ways to improve your recycling.

In recycling news… WasteDive reports that China’s new pulp import restrictions create ‘black swan event’ for OCC, and the announced restrictions on dry-milled recycled pulp imports could set the table for a full ban on the material.

OHNA Meeting Tuesday Night

The Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association (OHNA) will meet this Tuesday, October 27th, at 7 pm, over Zoom.

From announcement:

Monthly Meeting Agenda
Tuesday 28 Oct 2025 7pm
Join via Zoom: (Editor’s note: Contact and join OHNA in order to get Zoom link)
Welcome
Approval of Minutes (Scott Racette)
Community and local Officials: RPD/VCU Police, VCU liaison, Commonwealth’s Attorney,
Councilmember Lynch, RVA neighborhood liaison, etc
Committee reports: Zoning, FoOHP , RvaPB, Bylaws, Traffic safety, Amphitheater, Treasurer
Announcements: Join board/committees; upcoming events; Nov & Dec OHNA meeting dates

Updates and Continued Business:
● Resolution: Historical plaque in Pleasants Park (John Bolecek)

New Business:
● Donation to All the Saints Theatre Company; route

Valerie L’Herrou, President
Bryan Clark Green, Co-Vice President
Jennifer Hancock, Co-Vice President
Susan Hill, Co-Vice President
Harrison Moenich, Co-Vice-President
David Shannon, Co-Vice-President
Scott Racette, Secretary
John Bolecek, Treasurer